Metal wire sculpture

90 x 60 x 50 cm. 35 1/8 x 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 in.

Edition：5/8


Exhibited：

Today Art Museum，Beijing，China，The Unfathomable，21-28 November 2014；

SZ Art Center，Beijing，China，An Anonymous Exhibition：A Visual Game Dominated Small Sized Works，11-20 April 2015.


Note：

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by O2Art，Beijing.


LI YING

This piece，Mó is offered this season is yet another masterpiece from Li Ying in recent years. It has gained widespread critical acclaim while on exhibition in Asia and Europe，and is a favorite of collectors at home and abroad. The most symbolic image of the Oriental culture and psyche that is a ‘Buddha’ is presented in the work with modern-looking metal materials，in which the calm and sensible materials and the affective subject seamlessly marry in the most unorthodox way that transcends cultural boundaries. Such a strong contrast – between the overwhelming sense of energy exhibited by the materials and a faint air of feminine sensitivity – inherent in the work makes it impossible to forget once seen.

‘The relationship between the visual representation of the piece and the signifier and signified of its title is what piques my interest. When pronounced Wú in Mandarin Chinese，it carries the meanings of shapelessness，namelessness，nothingness，or nihility. Everything in the world is born of something，and something is born of nothing… When pronounced as Mó，similar to the pronunciation of the honorific term for the Buddha，either image is used to explain words or the words explain the image. From the perspective of Zen，any language does not truly exist and that the signifier is not the signified. “One finds confusion in words but awakening from heart…’，as Zen advises.


“Sui Jianguo started his Mao Jacket series in the year of 1997. I consider this work as a turning point in his art career. The Mao jacket looks like a hard shell from Sui. The stiff and restrained appearance of the work reminds audience the exceptional years of proletariat culture revolution. Mao jacket can also be associate with Sui’s previous works in terms of art language. However，the power and the impact of the work has been much softer compare to his previous sculptures—it becomes a format of an empty shell. The conflict that has been living along with Sui has resolved in the procedure of creating the Mao Jacke. It also becomes a melting point the fuses traditional realism and contemporary art language in one work. Sui has confessed that while he was working on Mao Jacket，he unintentionally adding his own personal opinions and experience to the work. However，soon he has realized that Mao Jacket does not belong to any single unit on earth；it has became an expression of unspoken emotions and thoughts of the artist. More than a “wearing jacket”，Mao Jacket literally becomes a “vessel” that stores the memories and ideologies of human beings. Sui Jianguo has also relieved himself from the past struggle within his work，emptied the shell of his mind ，and ready to pour new creations to this vessel.”

Words from Mentors--Metamorphosis

Li Ying completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. During her time as an undergraduate，she studied at Studio One of the Department of Sculpture；her mentor Mr. Sun Jiabo，a liberal who had stayed in France，gave his students free reign to create，which explains the many welded metal sculptures she had crafted over the years. Given the volumes of these works and the complexity in making them，it is a physically demanding and time-consuming job. As a postgraduate student，she turned her attention to metal wire weaving. Her work Now and Where，made of weaved aluminum wires coated in colourful plastic and completed before graduation，earned her a Youth Artist-in-Residence Award from Yishu 8. Later，her graduation piece Elevation was awarded the privileged Zeng Zhushao Scholarship.

From being an undergraduate to becoming a postgraduate，Li Ying had completed a metamorphosis. When she created works by welding metals，she was using the basic summation method – to combine countless metal units into a large finished product. When she later created her works by weaving metal wires，the way she comprehends space had changed：Her works went from being accumulation of bits and pieces to becoming porous mesh structures；lines not only divide spaces but also connect them. The space of pieces transforms from being static and clear-cut to changeable and flexible；they are physical and psychological，visual and memorable all at once. Above all else，her personal feelings are beginning to come through in her art.

Sui Jianguo  2014

Price estimate:
HKD：80,000 - 120,000
USD：10,300 - 15,500

Auction Result:
HKD:94,400